


carry us further

by fromthefarshore



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Dreams, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:08:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24491806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromthefarshore/pseuds/fromthefarshore
Summary: In the small town by the ocean, wonders happen.Akaashi is trading dreams and Bokuto decides to play along.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Kudos: 12





	1. encounter

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaaaaaaaaand so I decided to try another multi-chapter bokuaka fic!  
> heads up: it will have some supernatural? magical?? elements regarding dreams, but overall setting is just your regular life  
> thanks for stopping by & I hope you'll find it interesting!
> 
> note before reading: 'aka' can mean 'red' and 'ashi' - 'leg(s)' in Japanese, so I let myself play with these meanings a little bit

Red socks are what catches Bokuto's attention. 

-

The heat coming up from the dark pavement dances in lazy waves, blurring out the scenery behind. It's a bit of an overestimation to call the little hill with a few old houses and nearly abandoned garden scenery, but it creates the character of this particular street, scorched by the hottest rays of the sun, and frankly, Bokuto likes it.

There's a bus stop right before the slope goes up (perhaps whoever was planning the public transport had realised that no one would want to climb the hill with their own two feet) and another one good few hundred meters further after the street goes all the way down again. The bus runs only once an hour or even less frequently as there are not that many people to use its' services, and so whenever Bokuto sees a person waiting at the side of the road, he stops his grandpa's old car which he navigates with and offers to give a lift home. You see, he hates waiting himself. 

Before Bokuto registers that there's a person climbing up the hill he sees two splotches of bright red. It stands out in the sepia coloured world with nothing but greens and blues trying to join the group, it does not belong in the streets of the last century, and Bokuto cannot look away.

He laughs at himself, speeds up his car just a little bit and then, he pulls over. 

"Hello, hello! It's a hot day out there, how does a little lift sound?" 

It's funny because those two reds were simply the socks of the young and tall, short-haired man. Bokuto knew it, but there's still some sort of disappointment settling in him as it's not something more… mysterious and grand. 

The stranger looks at Bokuto. 

"Hello," he says, a bit hesitant. He's carrying a huge backpack, or a case with holders, really, as it seems to lack the lightness and comfort of the bags Bokuto prefers himself. The young man lifts his eyes up to look at the sky and as if he's just received permission from it, he nods. "I would appreciate it a lot." 

Bokuto reaches across the front seat and pushes the door open, greeting him with a smile. 

"I'm Bokuto Koutaro," he introduces himself after a moment. 

"Akaashi," his new companion says, putting a name to the face as he offers the tiniest smile. "Pleased to meet you." 

"Likewise," Bokuto says, starting the car engine. He glances at Akaashi, dressed in the worst colour of black for this sunny day, and swiftly moves his eyes to the red socks. Then, he looks back at the road and the car moves. 

"Akaashi, huh? _Red legs_?" Bokuto wonders aloud while he slowly makes way up and down the street. "A nickname?" 

Akaashi laughs, a bit shyly, a bit awkwardly. 

"I'm afraid it's simply a coincidence," he says. 

Bokuto hums. For some reason, however, it feels like there's more to it all. 

-

Bokuto keeps the little chat going, bringing up the ever-helpful topic of weather, while they go down the main road without any major turns or places where Akaashi could be heading to. He brings up the destination only when they approach the town center, and Akaashi lightly furrows his eyebrows. 

"Anywhere around here is fine, thank you," he says, peeking through the passenger's window. "Is there a hotel or a guesthouse nearby?" 

Bokuto has guessed that it's the first time Akaashi is visiting this corner of Japan, but he has decided there's _someone_ he's come to see and not simply stay on his own in a hotel. No one really comes here only for that, except the surfers, but something tells Bokuto that Akaashi's not the one to cut the waves with a board under his feet. 

"Erhm," Bokuto starts weakly, "it _exists_ , but the good places close to the ocean are already booked, so there's not much to– oh– how long you need to stay here?" He pulls over in the parking lot of convenience store before deciding where to go next. Akaashi bites his lip. 

"Starting with a couple of days and then figuring out what comes next." 

Bokuto grins at him, unexpected excitement bubbling inside his chest. 

"Listen," he starts, drumming his fingers on the driving wheel, "there's a vacant room in the house I'm staying. If you don't mind the old building, you're welcome to stay a few nights." 

"It is alright, no need to bo–" 

"No, really!" Bokuto presses on, letting go of the wheel and starting to move his hands around. "Listen, well, unless it feels awkward, but if not, then honestly, the room in not being used and it's possible to lock from inside, and– I wouldn't mind the company at all."

"Could I _rent_ it then?" Akaashi asks, after a moment of thought. His eyes are narrowed a little bit as if he doesn't fully trust Bokuto just yet, which is, in Bokuto's honest opinion, quite fair. Bokuto does not linger too much on the question of why he himself jumps headfirst into the lake of trust with Akaashi, though. 

"I don't feel good taking money for it, but I'm sure we can figure something out?" He smiles sheepishly and starts the engine again. "Come on, see the place and decide there. If you feel uncomfortable, I'll just give you a ride to the seaside hotel which will rob you off too much money," he laughs at his own words, "deal?" 

Akaashi takes a deep breath. A little smile wavers on his lips. 

"Alright, thank you, " he says. "You're very kind, Bokuto."

"Oh, just a little bit!" Bokuto jokes, feeling his cheeks warm up at the compliment as some sort of happiness fills his whole body.

It's only a couple minutes ride to his place, so Bokuto does not feel the need to necessarily keep the conversation going. Besides, the silence is somewhat comfortable with only a silent buzz of the air conditioner trying to bring cool fresh air from the heat hiding outside. Akaashi's eyes are jumping from one house to the other, and Bokuto suddenly feels sadness wash through him as he realises the sea does not appear in between them even if it's so incredibly close. To him, it sometimes seems like even the aircon brings in the silent lullaby of the waves. 

"I wish we could see the ocean from here," Bokuto says the moment they get out of the car in the drive-in area next to his house, "but at least you can feel it in the air."

Akaashi breathes in deeply, as if testing Bokuto's words, yet he does not comment anything about it. 

"That's what happens when the town is settled on a hill," he notes instead, with a smile and amused glint in his eyes, and Bokuto finds himself chuckling. 

"It feels like you're the local here, Akaashi," he says. "Though I am not exactly a local either," he adds and steps up to the front door, opening it immediately as it wasn't locked, "Come on in." 

"You're not?" Akaashi asks, muttering silent politenesses as he slips off his shoes and steps into a small hall continuing into an equally small kitchen. Bokuto feels a little bit bad that he doesn't have extra slippers at the entrance and thus he offers a whisper of apology. Akaashi shakes his head and stays in his bright red socks which yet again stand out surrounded by the brownness of wooden floor. 

"It's an old house of my grandparents, so I often spend my holidays here, but originally I'm a Tokyo kid." Bokuto grins. "And here is my little haven when I want to escape the never-ending crowds of Tokyo. The kitchen is quite tiny, there's also bathroom other there–" he points to the door on the right, "a room downstairs that I use–" hand gesturing to the left, "and a bit of space upstairs. Bed, low table and a small closet. Nothing fancy, but it's got its' charm."

Akaashi hums. 

"I'd love to stay," he decides. 

"We can get tea– wait–" Bokuto blinks at him. "You didn't even go upstairs, what if I lied? Not that I _did_ , but I considered maybe–" 

"If you really don't mind–" 

"No, no! Not at all. I mean– Yeah, that's why I offered it in the first place!" Bokuto reaches for the back of his neck; a nervous habit he's been trying to unsuccessfully break. He has hoped that Akaashi agrees to stay because it'd really be useless to spend money for an overpriced hotel number when he's got a free room, but Akaashi seems like a person who thoroughly checks everything before making the final decision, that's all. 

"It has good energy, this place," Akaashi says in a serious tone, and Bokuto furrows his eyebrows. His hand moves up into his hair at sudden confusion. 

"Wait, are you one of those _auras_ people?" He twists a strand of his hair, then drops it in favour of holding his hands in front of him in a little act of defence, "No judging, just wondering." 

Akaashi laughs at this, covering his mouth with the back of his hand and shaking his head ever so slightly. 

"Not entirely, no." He looks right at Bokuto, and only now Bokuto notices the depth of his eyes. They're green, but there's something more deep within, the mysterious silvering in the darkness with speckles of gold hiding somewhere behind the black pupil. Maybe the red was only a distraction. 

Bokuto opens his mouth when the realisation hits him, but Akaashi is quicker than him.

"I am a dream-picker."


	2. agreement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly did not think it'll take me so long to write second chapter (which is also quite short, I think I got stuck with short chapter after participating in ship weeks aaa), so any of you who still got back here after such a break are the real heroes, thank you <3

Bokuto closes his mouth, opens it again and yet, the words fail to escape him still. He's not entirely surprised by this turn of events, and at the same time he's surprised because of that fact itself. 

He's heard of dream-pickers, of course, and even wanted to become one when he was younger. At first it sounded a lot like a magical skill or some kind of superpower, but with time Bokuto's learned that it takes a great effort to become one, that it's not simply a talent you are born with.

"You knew, right before I told you," Akaashi says, and Bokuto thinks that chances of meeting a dream-picker are probably similar to the ones of meeting an astronaut. He wonders, briefly, if you can tell that they've seen the universe from their eyes. He wonders if he'd understand it as quickly as it's come with Akaashi.

"The eyes," Bokuto says, glancing into the greenness and swiftly looking away, "they betrayed you." He smiles, then allows himself to chuckle. When he lifts his eyes again, Akaashi is weakly beaming at him. 

"They tend to do that from time to time," he breathes. "It is said that particles of dreams get stuck in there." 

There's silence for a moment, and then for another one, as Akaashi doesn't carry on and Bokuto ends up not knowing what to say back.

Akaashi clears his throat. 

"I will understand if your offer no longer stands," he says, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. It suddenly hits Bokuto, how familiar having Akaashi is his house feels like. He wouldn't guess himself that it is the first time he's stepped in here.

"It does," Bokuto says, without even trying to consider any other option. "Dream-picker or not, you are welcome to stay. In fact, well, perhaps you've heard it many times, Akaashi, but it makes things even more interesting." Bokuto laughs, the lightness and easiness coming back to his body, the good energy of this house, as Akaashi said, washing through Bokuto and cleansing him of any worries. It's strange, but looking at Akaashi, Bokuto feels like there is nothing to doubt about him. He feels like this is exactly how his summer was supposed to turn out.

"Thank you," Akaashi says, and in return, Bokuto leads him upstairs to show the vacant room. 

-

Bokuto grabs two sets of  _ karaage  _ and two cans of fizzy drinks from the convenience store on the way to the sea. Akaashi follows him corner after corner, looking around, his eyes lingering on some of the houses lined along the streets.

"We're almost there," Bokuto says as the road starts winding slightly up, the trees with lush green leaves hiding the vast waters behind. Bokuto speeds up, excited to see the sea and even more so to see the reaction of Akaashi. 

It's not a big deal, to be fair, but Bokuto has always found something special about this particular seaside. Maybe it has to do with him spending all summers here with his grandparents, or perhaps with the multiple surfers always visible in the horizon even on winter days and making it feel like anything's possible, like nothing is stopping you. Maybe, it's a mix of both. 

A soft hum escapes Akaashi's lips as the sea finally uncovers itself in front of their eyes. 

They cross the street and climb over the low concrete blocks separating the road from the pavement and other ones allowing them into the sandy coast. Not like in the beaches closest to Tokyo, there are almost no people here.

Bokuto sits down on one of the blocks and opens his can of peachy drink. He waits for Akaashi who's wandered a bit further on, invited by the sound of waves. He tries to guess what is going through Akaashi's mind, and if the waters evoke the same emotions in him as they do in Bokuto. 

"Why this place?" he asks when Akaashi walks back, broken yet smoothed by the waves shell in his hand. Bokuto doesn't question that, he used to pick up shells and little stones here as well.

"I'm not exactly sure," Akaashi says, sitting down and accepting the can Bokuto offers him. "Thanks. I simply go around the country, collecting different dreams, trading them. There's not much science behind choosing locations," he lets out a little sigh, "it just comes to you and you go." 

Bokuto nudges one package of still warm  _ karaage _ to Akaashi and picks up the second one himself.

"Makes sense," he comments and throws a piece of chicken into his mouth. He lets out a satisfied sound and Akaashi starts eating as well, a beam present on his lips as he chews. 

"So, how does it all actually work?" Bokuto asks again, his curiosity waking up from a short nap. 

"A bit differently than everyone imagines," Akaashi starts. "I collect the dream remains floating around and then pick up parts of them to form new dreams which fit certain criteria, needs and requests. Only in a few instances can we collect fully formed dreams, alter or exchange specific person's dreams."

"How come?" 

"As much as many people want to get good dreams from us, rarely do they want to allow someone to play with their mind as it can affect their whole life. And same with giving away their dreams. It makes people feel vulnerable, scared. Doubts emerge when the time to fully consent to it comes." 

Bokuto hums. He's never really thought about such details. In his mind, dream-pickers were always like some sort of magicians, who can do anything. He's never considered the trust issues and fear of the impact of altered dreams. 

"I’ve always assumed everyone eagerly accepts the help of dream-pickers," he says. "Those who can." He adds, remembering that it is more of a luxury or emergency rather than just want. 

Akaashi shakes his head. He is looking down at his feet, at two stripes of red appearing in between his black trousers and black shoes. Then, he looks up and inhales deeply.

"Only taking already prepared good dreams from us," he repeats himself. "But that is completely understandable."

"I get it, but also," Bokuto takes a gulp of his drink while gathering thoughts, "personally I'd rather someone eventually fixed my nightmares instead of simply feeding me the good dreams to cover the bad stuff up." 

Akaashi freezes for a moment and he peels his eyes away from the sea and the sky to look at Bokuto. 

"You have nightmares?" he asks. 

Bokuto laughs. A tiny shrug tries to reply for him, but it’s not enough.

"Who doesn't?" he shoots back, but he doesn't wait for an answer he doesn't want to hear. "Perhaps I only have them a bit more frequently than the others." 

"Have you tried–" 

"I haven't, no. You dream-pickers are not exactly easy to come by." He takes a deep breath, but his smile is not wavering. Once you learn a skill, it doesn’t go away that easily. "I never really considered it at all." 

"What if," Akaashi furrows his eyebrows at his thoughts, but in a moment they smoothen out and some clarity appears in his eyes. "If I paid for accommodation with dreams, would you accept it?" 

"That's way more than the accommodation is worth."

"Look at it not as a payment, but as a thank you, then. Would it work?" 

Bokuto thinks about it. Getting a good dream from Akaashi feels like a free ticket to a movie, the only difference is that you'd watch it inside your head while sleeping and not in the cinema. He knows there are no side effects to it and that it is not addictive; he's seen the studies about the whole dream therapy business. Besides, for some reason, he still feels complete trust towards Akaashi, and ultimately, this little exchange would make both of them feel better. 

Bokuto looks far into the distance where the skies meet the waters and try to mix together, despite being two complete opposites. The warm rays of sun cheer them on.

"Alright," he says. "I'll accept it."

**Author's Note:**

> this chapter is quite short, but for upcoming ones I'm planning to go with around 2-3k each; the whole story shouldn't be very long, perhaps around 15k or so!


End file.
